


beneath your nose

by cluelesskaru



Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Attempt at Humor, Basically, Character Study, Christmas Presents, Dorks in Love, Fluff and Humor, I Will Go Down With This Ship, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Winter, just bros being dudes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-09-13 01:24:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16882962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cluelesskaru/pseuds/cluelesskaru
Summary: when i look into your eyes it’s warm and comfortable and this winter turns into early spring





	beneath your nose

**Author's Note:**

> ok, what i meant by character study is i basically just wrote this on a whim because i really wanted to put hyunjae and younghoon in this situation and figure out as i went how they'd handle it because i'm still a new deobi and, therefore, Still Leaning. 
> 
> also, yeah, i call jaehyun hyunjae bc i think that stage name/nickname is cute af and you can only ever pry that from my dead, cold hands.
> 
> title, summary and inspiration all come from melting heart by the boyz bc i'm a soft bitch like that and let's call this unrevised bc i can't spot my own mistakes most times, rip me.

a fleck of snow will always fall from the sky without aim.

it precipitates from the clouds and is swept away by the wind, being carried for who knows how far, until it finally touches the asphalt. a fleck of snow might even never touch the ground, such as this one. it lands, perfectly, as if it did have a will aim and somewhere to be, right on the eyelashes of one lee hyunjae's left eye. he blinks in reflex, feeling it melt and spill into his eye, freezing and burning at the same time.

the wind blows and hyunjae cowers, so that’s how he is, cowering and rubbing his eye, when he sees younghoon walk towards him. he's making his way up the hill hyunjae decided to wait for him on, and when he catches hyunjae's eye, he smiles.

hyunjae has never been much of a sap, but his ass is freezing and the weather is frigid — he's a goddamn fool for thinking that waiting for younghoon outside was a good idea, fuck romance — but when he sees younghoon's smile, it's like it's not so cold anymore.

younghoon reaches hyunjae and sits next to him under the tree. it's snowing, not heavily, but enough to make some snowflakes gather on top of his head.

“hi,” he beams at hyunjae once more and then shakes his head to get the snow out of his hair.

hyunjae clicks his tongue, reaching out shake the snow off himself, the cold doesn’t affect him since he has his gloves on. he wishes he could feel younghoon's hair, though.

“ready to go?” hyunjae asks.

“hm.” younghoon nods, leaning into hyunjae's hand, like a puppy.

hyunjae gives him an extra pat on the head, for good measure, and gets up.

“what were you doing, anyway?” hyunjae offers his hand to pull him up and younghoon takes it. he’s not wearing any gloves.

“i was talking to a teacher about an essay. she wants me to rewrite a few passages before my final grade, she thinks i can make it better.”

“that’s nice of her.”

“hm,” he nods, “she didn't have to.”

hyunjae rolls his eyes. there’s a good chance younghoon charmed the hell out of the teacher and now she's helping him out without even realizing she's playing favorites. younghoon's been doing it since freshman year, it’d be downright devilish if he weren’t so sweet about it.

they make it out of campus and younghoon walks ahead, walking closer to the shops so he can avoid the snow on their cover. neither of them have umbrellas, like fools.

“how was your day?” younghoon turns around, walking backwards so he can look at hyunjae.

“just had classes,” he shrugs. “it was alright.”

younghoon nods with energy, though, like anything hyunjae says is fascinating. hyunjae pulls younghoon by the arm arm so he doesn’t bump into a woman coming out of a laundromat. younghoon chuckles and comes to walk beside hyunjae again, bumping their shoulders.

“what are you doing later?” he asks, and hyunjae raises his eyebrows at him. "uh, not like later, as in _actually later,_  i mean. what are you gonna do now? right now— now that we're done with classes for the day, that is. unless you have something to do?"

hyunjae laughs. "geez, take a breath, bro." younghoon sticks his tongue out. "nada. i'm not doing anything."

"okay, cool." younghoon crosses his arms, shoving his hands under his armpits and decidedly looks ahead. a bit too decidedly.

hyunjae watches him for a few steps, until he has to look ahead too or he'll be the one bumping into any passerby. the streets aren't crowded, but there's enough people out to make them walk with their shoulders glued together to not take up too much space.  they're close to the train station already, their walk nearing its end, though, since they take different trains home. hyunjae bites the inside of his cheek. there's no way younghoon wanted to know that for no reason.

"what did you ask that for?" he prods.

"oh," younghoon uncrosses his arms and waves a hand. "i just have to go downtown to buy some stuff? i was wondering if you'd want to go."

"why were you wondering instead of asking?" hyunjae teases. younghoon laughs, casting his eyes down, the way hyunjae knew he would. he's so easily flustered, it's too much fun.

"i was worrying you wouldn't want to go."

hyunjae stops walking. younghoon still takes a couple more steps before realizing that hyunjae stopped, he backtracks fast, once he does. when younghoon is in front of him, with his inquiring eyes, hyunjae puts his hand on his chest with a big gesture.

"bro."

"bro," younghoon says back, in reflex, but it's too vague and more of a question.

"of course i want to go."

then younghoon does that thing, that he doesn't really smile, but hyunjae knows he's smiling, like deep down. inside.

"it's christmas shopping, but i already have something in mind."

hyunjae touches his own chin, pretending to reconsider. "so you only need to go to one place?"

"yes." younghoon nods.

"and you're only going to buy one specific thing at this specific place?"

"yes," younghoon nods again, very serious this time.

hyunjae narrows his eyes, looking at younghoon up and down and younghoon rights his posture, squares his shoulders and holds his hands together in front of himself. hyunjae recognizes it as younghoon's _i'm honest_ stance and he is indeed impressed that younghoon slipped into it. it means he really does want his company, even if they're just goofing by now.

"i sense no mistruth." hyunjae finally declares. "i shall accompany you."

younghoon takes a step back and does a 90 degrees bow. "i thank you, fine sir."

hyunjae takes a step back too and does a longer ninety degrees bow. "why, i thank _you_ , fine sir, for deeming my company worthy."

hyunjae gets up to see younghoon bow again.

"nonsense, your company is the most esteemed one in my regards."

hyunjae bows again, trying to find an answer to that with the way his stomach is suddenly doing flips, but an ahjumma walks past them cursing about kids being rowdy on sidewalks and the two of them right their posture. hyunjae looks into younghoon's eyes for a split second, and they're shining and mischievous, before he snorts and grabs younghoon's hand, dragging him until they're all but running into the subway station. they're not supposed to run inside, though, so they settle into a more appropriated pace when they reach the ticket gates and younghoon has to let's go of his hand to pay.

hyunjae follows younghoon easily enough, but he moves to a line hyunjae wasn't expecting to go. when younghoon had said downtown, hyunjae hadn't thought they would _actually_ go to the busiest district in town, specially this time of the year.

"where are we going again?"

"just the shopping district, it's a street store."

hyunjae nods. it's probably going to be very busy out there so close to the holidays, but he wasn't really kidding when he said he wants to go; no excuse to be with younghoon is a bad one, as far as hyunjae is concerned.

they walk ahead enough to hopefully get into one of the more empty cars and get to waiting. it's warm inside the station, so hyunjae takes his gloves off.

"who are you shopping for?"

"just my mom."

hyunjae pouts and younghoon mirrors him, pouting too. "mama's boy," he says, and younghoon mouths it back mockingly, knowing that hyunjae was going to say it.

"how is dear ms. kim, by the way?"

"she actually asked about you last time i called, told me to invite you to christmas dinner if you're in town."

hyunjae puts his hand on his chest dramatically again. "what an honor!"

he had been, in fact, considering going to incheon for some of the break, get some home cooked meals under his belt, it's not far away after all, just a quick bus ride, he's not like jacob who has to take like an actual international flight or anything...

"yeah, i don't think i'll be going home this break." is what he says, instead.

younghoon smiles. "great! you should stay over for christmas then!"

hyunjae stifles a smile. "hey, dude, you don't have to go through such lengths to get me to spend the night, you know i'm easy for you."

younghoon actually full on blushes at this, but the moment hyunjae realizes what he just said, he can feel the back of his neck burning, too, and he's relieved to see their train arriving just in time to save them from the sheer embarrassment.

the car is not full and they sit near the door on the other side, their shoulders and the sides of their knees are touching, and it's. they're sitting too close, but now it'll be weird if hyunjae slides to the side a bit, won't it? then it weights on him that he wasn't saved from embarrassment because now they haven't said anything else yet and that just makes the situation downright mortifying. it also means it'd be even more obvious if he slides to the side even the tiniest bit.

oh, man. he made everything weird. they're going to be weird all the while until later when they make their way back together and everything is going to be so creepy and uncomfortable and it's all hyunjae's fault for being so goddamn thirsty and making jokes that are way too honest to the point they're awkward. oh, god. he literally just sexually harassed kim younghoon, didn't he? oh, no. the poor guy.

"did you get anything for your mom?" younghoon asks, out of absolutely fucking nowhere.

hyunjae bristles. how dare younghoon interrupt him when he's freaking out about younghoon.

oh.

wait.

...

right.

he finally answers after a beat too long. "an online gift certificate for her favorite store."

"ah, that's smart. you don't have to worry about wrapping."

hyunjae nods, turning to peer at younghoon. his friend his legs stretched in front of him and has his eyes a bit out of focus and a slight pout; it's his thinking face and he doesn't even have his phone out. he's not uncomfortable, then. hyunjae didn't ruin anything— he mentally high fives himself.

younghoon spaces out for a while there, but soon they're talking again, about nothing of importance, though. they discuss what everyone's doing for the holiday, checking who's going to be in town so they can do something together on the 25th.

they don't have to wait long before getting off; their university is well located and it's just a straight line until the shopping district. it's still early, so they're clear off from rush hour, but since the days are short this time of the year, it's already night when they come out of the subway station. it's also cold as hell, but at least it stopped snowing. hyunjae is getting his gloves back on and sees younghoon shoving his hands into his coat pockets. what a dumbass. hyunjae pulls younghoon's arm and gives him his gloves.

he doesn't take them and instead looks at hyunjae's face with a confused look. "what's this?"

"my hands aren't as cold as yours."

younghoon frowns and pulls hyunjae hands into his. his fingers are so cold that hyunjae flinches, but let's younghoon hold on.

"that's 'cause you've been wearing gloves this whole time."

younghoon takes one glove and puts it on hyunjae's left hand with ease, then he puts the the other one on his right hand. hyunjae just let's him and watches. then, because it's the only thing he can do, hyunjae takes younghoon's gloveless hand with his gloveless own and holds it, then puts both their hands inside his coat's pocket. younghoon hums in appreciation and squeezes hyunjae's hand.

younghoon is not dressed very appropriately. he's only wearing a coat and, like, a button up? that looks flannel, and a regular shirt underneath, it's actually pretty similar to hyunjae... except hyunjae's also wearing his warmest hoodie underneath, plus a beanie and gloves and even his boots look warmer than younghoon's sneakers. this dumb kid.

"why are you so underdressed anyway?" hyunjae asks, squeezing younghoon's hand back and starting to make way.

younghoon tangles their fingers inside hyunjae's pocket and walks closer, so it's more comfortable, and hyunjae presses his lips together and pretends his heart isn't squeezing even more inside his chest.

"dunno, i was in a rush this morning."

"stupid," hyunjae says, but he runs his thumb over younghoon's knuckles once.

the streets really aren't that busy yet; it's cold and early on a week day, but given the time of the year it's bound to get crowded after people start leaving work given that the stores are always open late. they even walk past that one department store that is open 24/7.

it's windy though and everyone's walking around huddled closer and so for someone looking from the outside they might not even see how hyunjae and younghoon are holding hands inside hyunjae's coat's pocket.

they keep talking like normal, pointing at things at store fronts and debating whether they should stop somewhere to eat already or do it on their way back.

everything is covered in christmas decorations and the night is brighter with all the twinkling lights. parts of the street are frozen white and hyunjae's nose is so cold that he keeps sniffing, but he's almost sad when they get to their destination. younghoon abruptly pulls him in, not having told where they were going and hyunjae starts to whine for the rough treatment, but stops when they cross the door and it's warm and comfortable inside.

it's another one of the larger department stores and this one took the christmas decorations up a notch; there's a huge tree in the middle of the store with fake snow and decoration that sparkles and twinkles and they both kind of stop to stare for a moment. they're not the only ones, while they're there gaping, another couple enters behind them and stops to stare, too. the boyfriend pulls the girlfriend closer and kisses her cheek.

it makes hyunjae pull his hand out of his pocket, letting go of younghoon, and take a step away. he clears his throat too, for good measure. "lead the way, chief."

younghoon nods, without seeming to notice that hyunjae is blushing, _again,_ and starts walking without taking his eyes from the christmas tree. they indeed aren't used to seeing such extravagant christmas decoration, but it's still no reason to gape so much. this is the shopping district and there's always decoration, this is all just another side effect of globalization and everything.

hyunjae gives an exasperated sigh when he has to pull younghoon so he doesn't trip over himself. "yah, space cadet, which department are we supposed to go to?"

"cosmetics."

hyunjae sighs and holds younghoon's arm, leading them towards the opposite direction from where younghoon had been walking to. younghoon just sort of giggles at it, unbothered about being lost .2 seconds after getting here.

they head straight to the perfumes section and younghoon finally focuses, looking for what he already has in mind and hyunjae just sort of hovers close by, aimlessly checking things out as they catch his eye. they aren't there for long when a clerk pops up from a corner right next to hyunjae.

"hey there, can i be of assistance?"

it's a girl, probably around their age, with bold eyeliner and a nose piercing. that is not a look hyunjae would expect from someone working in this store and he automatically starts liking the place more.

he nods. "sure, help the fool over there, but do so at your own risk."

the girl smiles and goes to younghoon, who tells her the perfume he's looking for and, sure enough, she walks them further down the aisle and finds what he had been looking for right away.

"can i get you anything else? maybe a gift for your friend, too?" and she raises her eyebrows suggestively at hyunjae when she says _friend_ and he shoots his eyebrows up back in question.

are they giving off that vibe? hyunjae looks away from her and forbids himself from getting flustered.

younghoon looks at him as well though, like an afterthought, seeming not to notice the girl's amusement at hyunjae's expense. "nah, no need, he'll be getting enough."

the girl lets out a delighted laugh and hyunjae promptly looks away from both of them, fiddling with a body mist at his eye level. how can younghoon be this clueless, for goodness sake, is beyond hyunjae.

"do you want me to wrap this for you?" the clerk asks younghoon and it sounds almost teasing. and like, what the fuck? what kind of innuendo is there in  _wrapping_ something for goodness sake?

hyunjae takes it back, he never wants to come here again. he didn't get out of his house this morning to be this clowned.

"yes, please."

and goddamn kim younghoon. what a fool. he looks at hyunjae and hyunjae waves his hand dismissively as a reply. he'll be waiting right here, thank you very much. no need to follow into more roasting. he regrets a moment latter, though, when watching from afar he sees younghoon and the girl laughing good-naturally.

he turns his back and goes to wait outside. it's even dumber of a choice than earlier, though. it's colder now, no matter how warmly dressed hyunjae is, it's still winter and night has fallen; he doesn't even need to check to be sure that the temperature has already dropped below zero. he puts on his sole glove, pulls the lapels of his coat up and tugs his beanie lower so it covers his ears more. he crosses his arms and looks around to kill the time.

he always liked the lights of the shopping district. the colorful storefronts and the people coming and going no matter the weather. it's even more vivid with christmas, with all the stragglers who leave everything to the last minute. well — just as younghoon.

a gust of wind blows hard enough to hurt and hyunjae pulls a face mask from his bag and puts it over his nose and mouth so it's easier to breathe.

honestly, the lengths he goes to for goddamn kim younghoon are goddamn ridiculous.

hyunjae shivers and starts regretting. who even goes out with weather this bad? it's ridiculous, it's too cold to be out. even he is underdressed by now. he's standing there and mentally cursing when someone grabs his arm and he startles.

"damn, it's so cold."

it's younghoon, of course,

hyunjae recovers and snuggles younghoon's arm closer. "got everything you need?"

younghoon hums and nods, "it's in my bag." he goes back to hanging from hyunjae's right away. "you're sure you don't need anything?"

"i am" hyunjae shakes his head. "you wanna go?"

younghoon hums again. "don't you wanna eat first? i don't wanna go home yet."

"sure." hyunjae stars walking, as if he hadn't just been thinking about wanting to leave, and leads them down the street while looking around to find a place.

younghoon holds his hand, and it's the hand hyunjae doesn't have a glove on, that he holds with both of his, leaning his head on hyunjae's shoulder. and it's kind of a stupid way to walk and hyunjae is sure that people are going to stare, because younghoon is way too tall and lanky to be leaning into hyunjae like this, he's sure they look silly.

hyunjae puts their hands inside his pocket, because younghoon's fingertips are cold. it's bound to look uncomfortable, walking with a guy this size hanging from him, but. hyunjae is not cold anymore.

"you good with some noodles?"

"hm, spicy noodles, please."

"i know there's a noodle place around here somewhere." hyunjae mutters, but then finds it hard to pay attention to his surroundings with younghoon hanging from his arm like this. "are you comfortable over there?" he asks with amusement.

it doesn't look comfortable in the slightest; they're close to the same height and as much as hyunjae loathes to admit it, younghoon is even a bit taller than him, maybe only an inch, but still. younghoon has to lower himself a little to hug hyunjae's arm the way he's doing and by this point hyunjae isn't even paying attention to where they're headed anymore. it's far more interesting to look at younghoon than it is to look around, even with all the lights and colorful storefronts and so many people walking past them.

"your jacket is soft."

"right, my jacket." hyunjae snorts. "your weak ass can't even admit that you like cuddling me."

"yah, lee jaehyun, don't call me weak."

"yayah," hyunjae shakes the shoulder younghoon is resting on. "the fuck dude, don't call me jaehyun."

younghoon giggles and squeezes their joined hands. "hey, isn't there a park nearby? we should go there."

"i thought you wanted spicy noodles."

younghoon flicks his eyebrows up. "but now i wanna have a seat."

"isn't it too cold for that?"

"jae-yah." younghoon whines. "let's goooo."

"alright, alright, no need to go all baby on me."

the park really is nearby, just down the street and a block to the left. hyunjae gets his bearings fast enough once he situates himself. the park, if you wanna call it that, is actually just a few benches and trees built around one of the subway entrances, with a newsstand and a few food carts around. hyunjae directs them straight to the one selling tteokbokki. spicy rice cakes might warm them a bit, even if not as much as noodles.

the tteokbokki is sold by a man who is wearing enough layers for two and once again hyunjae sulks at how underdressed he and younghoon are. they shouldn't even be out without wearing at least padded jackets, this is their worst idea to date. well. he watches younghoon bounce on the balls of his feet as they wait for their food and how bad of a idea can it really be? younghoon's cheeks are red from the cold and he has sniffed at least five times since they left the store, but. the tip of his nose is pink and it's so cute and endearing that hyunjae pulls his phone out and snaps a picture. younghoon squeals in indignation but doesn't act on it when hyunjae puts his phone back in his pocket right away.

when younghoon reaches to get his wallet, hyunjae moves in record time and pays for everything. he's not sure why it's so important that he does so, but younghoon's short lived whining and the satisfied smile that he has next make it worth  it.

hyunjae removes his face mask in solidarity and also because he has to eat and younghoon let's go of hyunjae's arm for the same reason, but once they take a seat on one of the benches, he sprawls on it low enough that he can rest his head much more comfortably on hyunjae's shoulder.

"what are you smiling for?" younghoon asks, poking hyunjae's cheek with the toothpick he's using to eat his rice cakes. hyunjae flinches and pushes younghoon's hand away.

"yah!" he tries to look at younghoon's face but they're too close and the angle is all wrong. he means to say something more, but once he finds that he's so close that he can only look at one of younghoon's eye at a time, suddenly he can't remember what it is that he meant to say.

younghoon is staring right at him. he looks down to get another rice cake and puts it in his mouth. he chews slowly and then looks down at the tteokbokki again, and maybe hyunjae is now too fixated on younghoon's lips; so much so that he almost misses it when younghoon brings another rice cake up and puts it in front of hyunjae's mouth.

hyunjae's not breathing.

he opens his mouth and closes his lips around the rice cake younghoon is offering him and he knows that he's probably being very dramatic here but he does feel like literal death. younghoon goddamn smiles once hyunjae finds it in himself to start chewing and he puts the toothpick on his own mouth to lick the sauce.

this angle is so weird, hyunjae probably has a double chin, but he can't stop staring at younghoon, who just keeps smiling and hums as he gets another bite of his rice cakes. then he feeds hyunjae another bit, still smiling.

hyunjae might as well be dead already. his soul has left his body. he wants to close his eyes and just try it out to confirm if death really is as peaceful as they say, but he doesn't dare look away.

"your tteokbokki is going to get cold."

even younghoon's eyes are smiling.

hyunjae takes a deep breath. without breaking eye contact, he puts his cup of food next to him on the bench. then he reaches and takes younghoon's, putting it aside too.

younghoon is grinning, his eyes sparkling with more devilishness than laughter by now. hyunjae often forgets that, despite appearances and his occasional shyness, younghoon is not, in fact, as innocent as he looks. hyunjae turns towards him, bumping their knees, and leans into the other's space. younghoon's smile widens and he bites the tip of his tongue, sticking it out, when he reaches up and circles his arms around hyunjae's neck.

"took you long enough," younghoon whispers.

and hyunjae is so nervous he could explode but the blush spreading further on younghoon's cheeks and the slight tremor of his thigh against hyunjae's spurs him on. he puts his hands on younghoon's hips and it's not cold anymore — there's no sound around them and it doesn't matter where they are. hyunjae leans in and kisses younghoon.

"what do you mean?" hyunjae asks, after a long, long moment, when he pulls away. younghoon gives him another peck and hyunjae can barely catch his breath. "it only took me, like, a couple of years to finally kiss you."

younghoon laughs, finally opening his eyes. and goddamn kim younghoon. hyunjae kisses him again, but doesn't close his eyes. because he can't stop looking. he's completely sure that there isn't anyone in the entire world with prettier eyes than kim younghoon or with a smile like this. younghoon stares at him too for a second and then pushes hyunjae's shoulder sway.

"creep." younghoon mutters. hyunjae shakes his head to get his hair out of his eyes, in an attempt to hide his smile, too, but it's completely ineffective with his beanie holding his hair in place. younghoon reaches and tucks a strand inside hyunjae's beanie with one finger. "so, i think we need to stop by your place, right?" hyunjae's eyebrows go up so high that they probably get tucked inside his beanie as well. younghoon widens his eyes too. "to get your things!" he slaps hyunjae's shoulder. "perv!"

"you're the one who invited me to stay over at your _parent's house_. i never thought you were this kinky."

"yah!" younghoon looks offended, but only a little bit, he's still smiling. like he can't help it.

they've been best friends and practically glued together for two years now and younghoon has had him over to his parents house multiple times. hyunjae calls ms. kim _eomma_ and does everyone's dishes after every meal while younghoon dries them and fusses around him. if their relationship were anything different from this, perhaps hyunjae would be a pile of nerves right now.

but it's younghoon.

hyunjae leans in again and kisses the tip of younghoon's nose. "it's alright, we can be kinky together."

and maybe younghoon tries to argue or say something, but they're kissing again and then they'll leave once their asses start to freeze and later hyunjae'll find something else to tease younghoon about anyway, but younghoon won't mind. this is just how they are together.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> give me some feedback, i love that stuff!
> 
> this was supposed to be posted before christmas but alas here we are
> 
> and hey i hang out on [twitter](https://twitter.com/cluelesskaru) sometimes, just thought i'd let y'all know


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